Exams

Introduction

The Student Administration System (SAS) process examinations and qualifications - that means it is us who ensure the examination results are available to your son or daughter when they expect to receive them.

To achieve this SAS need to ensure the unit results from your son or daughter’s academic departments arrive on the central computer record system. These are checked to ensure that there are no missing or incorrect grades, and that the grades do not contradict the Regulations (rules for the course); and to make sure your son or daughter will be able to see their results when they go online on the appointed day. Additionally, if your son or daughter is due to graduate, we make sure our graduation ceremonies organisers (The Events Team) know about them.

TIP:We make sure the module results for your son or daughter's examinations are online when they should be.

Overview of Examinations Cycle during the Academic Year

Medical and Dentistry students sometimes follow a different schedule to other undergraduate students, so not all the dates above will apply to them. However, the processing of their results and records are dealt with similarly to all other undergraduate students.

Examination Periods

There are three main examination periods for the typical undergraduate student:

Autumn Semester Examinations

Exams typically taken in late January or early February. Results published on the University website in early March.

Depending on the structure of the course, some students may not receive all their Autumn Semester grades in this exam period because the modules they have taken are set up differently. In cases like this results will be received as part of the Spring Semester results.

Spring Semester Examinations

Exams typically taken in late May or June. Results published on the University website in early July.

Most undergraduate students also get a “year end” result, reflecting their performance over the whole year, and indicates whether they can move up a year (we call this “progressing”), or have to stay at the same level and retake the examinations. For a list of year end result types and what they mean see What do my son or daughter’s Year End results mean?

This is the busiest exam period for the SAS because any results from the Autumn Semester that weren’t received then are submitted along with Spring Semester module results.

Resit (August) Examinations

For students who need to retake modules they didn’t pass either in the Autumn or Spring semesters, Resit exams are taken during three weeks in August. Results are released to students on the University website in early September.

TIP: Resit exams cannot be rearranged because of a student’s holiday commitments, so students who are due to take resit exams need to be available during the whole of the August resit period prior to the exam timetable being published.

After the Resit Period, students will get a second “year end” result. This reflects their performance over the whole year and the resit period, and indicates whether they can move up a year (we call this “progressing”), or must stay at the same level for the next academic year. For a list of year end result types and what they mean see What do my son or daughter’s Year End results mean?